


Chihiro's Light

by TheCynicalSquid



Category: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:53:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21864787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCynicalSquid/pseuds/TheCynicalSquid
Summary: Sen returned that fateful day changed, with something missing. Rin is trying desperately to keep her going but cannot do it on her own. Where is Sen's loyal protector Haku, and what has Yubaba done to the both of them? Sen's friends must band together to help her, but first they must unravel the mystery of what has been done, and find the strength and courage to stand up to Yubaba once again.An alternative ending to Spirited Away
Kudos: 10





	1. Changed

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Faebreath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faebreath/gifts).



_He walked down the centre of a long dark corridor, wood panelled walls pressing down on him. The corridor stretched and he couldn’t tell if he was continuing the same way or if he’d been turned around. His started to run, if only he could get to the end, he might be able to do something! No, he’d turned around again, when had he turned around? How did he even know if he’d turned, the corridor was identical either way? The screaming of pigs started to pierce his ears and grew until he was clutching his ears and crouching on the floor. He opened his eyes a crack and around him, rather than the dark panelled walls there were rows and rows of pig pens, the pigs in them clambering over each other, crushing each other and squealing and screaming, their fat tongues and sharp teeth reaching for him. He screamed and ran, and suddenly his screaming was the pig’s screaming and he was running on all fours. He skidded to a halt at the end of the rows of pens and there in front of him was a small round table with two chairs and two people. One, an ugly witch wearing a large blue dress, the other a petite, young, brown haired child. On the table sat a steaming plate of pork ribs covered in shining sauce. His panic rose, he couldn’t let her eat it, it was all wrong! If only he could call out to her, he tried to call her name, he pictured it in his head ch-ch-his mind scrambled and only a pig’s screech came out of his mouth. The child picked up the steaming meat and placed it to her lips while the witch looked on, beaming._

Haku woke from his nightmare in his small windowless room, sweating and with the name on his lips. What was it? He had known it for a second, if he could only remember! He looked around the dark walls of his prison, feeling the weight of helplessness crushing him down.

* * *

Sen stared at the scrubbed floor in front of her, hands throbbing with the soap solution on them. They were dry and cracked, she stared at them, feeling… lost.

“Hey Sen, come on!” the brisk voice was accompanied by a prod from Rin’s foot.

Sen shook her fuzzy head, she didn’t know how long she had just been sitting there, but judging by the uncomfortable looks the other workers were giving her, too long. She nodded briskly and got back onto her sore feet and hoisted her heavy bucket up. She tried to ignore Rin’s pained look, it just made the constricting feeling in her chest worse, so she looked at the floor and carried on her work.

* * *

YuBaba observed the scene from high above and a smile quirked her lips, finally the human was in her proper place and acting as she should. Not that it hadn’t taken a little effort on her part. The human had been difficult to cow and everyone around her had become so loyal to her in such a short amount of time, it made little sense to the witch. But it was all sorted now, her bathhouse was back in order and her workers were firmly in their place. She snapped her gnarled fingers and the figure waiting in the shadows stepped forwards,

“Come, Haku, we have things to attend to. You shall have to make up for your insolence somehow.” YuBaba couldn’t keep the smile off her face as the river spirit bowed his head and followed a few paces behind as she ascended the bathhouse back to her quarters.

* * *

The night was quiet and still outside the tight walls of Zeniba’s cottage. The old witch and No-face huddled together over the still spring water in the basin in the centre of the floor. Tension gripped No-face’s ghostly body and Zeniba had even more wrinkles than normal as she tried to focus on the scrying pool. Slowly the colours reflected in the water started to coalesce and form into wispy shapes and then into images.

_A small pink clad figure curled tightly under a blanket, she lay completely still. Her eyes, however, were wide open. Around her larger figures moved and breathed deeply in sleep. Amongst them the child was like a lonely boat on a soft blanket ocean, lost and far from home. Her skin was pale and her eye’s gazed blankly out, focusing on nothing._

Zeniba gripped the edges of the basin tightly. “Oh, sweet child.” She whispered in a choked voice, “my sister has truly gone too far this time, you mark my words, No-face, this will not stand!” No-face, however, could not take his attention off the small fragile figure reflected in the water, where was her light? The hope and joy that made Sen who she was… it was gone.

* * *

“You must eat Sen, we don’t want you getting any smaller or we might lose you, heh?” Rin’s voice cracked slightly at the end, ruining the light-hearted tone she was aiming for. Sen picked her gaze up from where it had been resting on the table, it never reached Rin’s face however, but stopped limply on the food in front of her. She mechanically picked up the dumpling steaming on the plate, but the waft of hot, food-smelling air hit her and she just couldn’t. She placed it carefully back on the table and waited silently with her hands in her lap. Waited for Rin to say it was time to go to work. It was easier to cope when she was working.

Rin sighed and fidgeted her hands on the table, unsure of what to do with the girl, her silence worried Rin. She knew whatever sympathy she could give the child could not bring back what was lost and was the last thing Sen needed. But that left a void of unsaid words and uncertainty. Empty platitudes fizzled on her tongue; she knew no words could help the girl.

But the pale pallor of Sen’s skin and the thin look to her downcast face as Rin inspected her decided it. “Right then, something else!” She briskly got to her feet and marched off in the direction of the kitchens.

As Rin’s imposing figure disappeared into a doorway, Sen heard the pattering of slowly approaching feet. She didn’t turn until the footsteps stopped right behind her and whoever the feet were attached to didn’t move for an uncomfortable length of time. She spun slowly on the bench until she was facing the path between the long rows of tables. There, standing in front of her was the little frog spirit who had stopped Haku on the bridge her first day here. That vague memory was followed by a hollowness, a space where some other feeling was meant to reside… but did not.

The little frog looked up at her, wringing his webbed fingers. Sen did not meet his eyes until he cleared his throat and waited a while more.

“Sorry to disturb you… Sen. I… we, I should say,” he said looking around at a couple of other uncomfortable looking spirits seated nearby, “we want to let you know that we’re awfully sorry, that is… we didn’t…none of us were happy about…” He cleared his throat, obviously at a loss for words.

He stopped and simply looked down, waiting for a few moments in silence, which was easier for Sen to cope with than his words had been. Then he turned and slowly hopped away. All the other spirits who had been watching this awkward encounter shuffled and turned back to their own meals. Sen was so confused, she couldn’t understand what the frog was apologising for, what had happened? Her mind touched on it and skittered away like a shy horse _._ She tried again to touch on that part of her mind but she could not, when she seemed close to reaching it, she was repelled, like two magnets trying to touch, the harder she pushed, the harder she was repelled. Her small frame shuddered slightly, and her breathing quickened for a moment, she gripped the edge of the bench hard until her knuckles turned white. A hand touched her shoulder gently and she jumped,

“…Sen? Are you okay?” Rin was back from the kitchens carrying a plate of something. Sen turned slowly back on the bench to face the table, her mind exhausted from the attempt, she couldn’t even remember now what it was she had been thinking about, or trying to think about.

Rin pushed the plate towards her, and Sen slowly raised her gaze to it again. This time it contained a few plain crackers and a small pile of coldish rice.

“We’re not leaving this table until you eat that, so you better hurry up.” Sen cast her glance up and furrowed her brow at Rin, “Ah so you are still in there then, huh? I’m not just talking to a Sen shaped statue!” Rin met Sen’s eyes and held them, showing she meant what she said. Sen obediently picked up the first cracker and put it to her mouth, it was bland and dry and just… nothing, it was exactly what Sen needed, she finished both, eating with slow methodical actions. The rice however, was too much, the texture was too wet and when she picked it up, half fell back to the plate and she ended up staring at it and going off into a daze, not able to muster the energy to try again.

“Fine, you win; you can leave the rice, we’ll both be old and grey by the time you finish it!” Rin conceded, secretly happy that the girl had eaten anything at all. She had been worsening the past week, Rin knew she would get sick soon if she did not perk up, those few crackers were a small victory at least. Sen had returned to her that awful day, not answering any of Rin’s questions about where she had been. In fact, the girl had not uttered so much as a sound since then. She had just gotten down to her work, asking for nothing and showing no signs of knowing what had happened or interest in the world around her. They both got up and left the table to start work for the day, Rin desperately hoping that she could get through to Sen enough to keep her going. Where was Haku? Where was Zeniba or No-face? Someone had to help her soon, or she thought this girl might just fade away.


	2. Reunion

It started when Sen was in the middle of scrubbing one of the tubs. It began as a quiet buzzing in the back of her head which Sen assumed was just noise from a pipe and she continued her cleaning; mind set on the menial task. The girl bent down to pick up the bucket of dirty water to get a refill.

* * *

Rin was just going to collect Sen for “lunch”, or whatever small part of it Sen would pick through and manage to force down. She turned the corner to the tub Sen was meant to be cleaning and frowned, Sen was not here. She walked around the side of the tub and saw her. Lying in a puddle of dirty wash water on the floor, curled around on herself with her head tucked between her knees rocking back and forth. Tears streaming down her face, mixing with the murky water pooled around her.

“Sen!” Rin gasped, running to her and kneeling by her side, “what’s the matter, are you hurt?!” The girl said nothing, just clutched her hair so tightly her knuckles went white.

Sen’s head felt like it was full of a swarm of bees, a swarm of very angry bees. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t move, she was only vaguely aware that Rin was looming over her and speaking in a worried voice, but she couldn’t pick up the words over the buzzing and pain. Strong arms wound around her and picked her up, intensifying the agony in Sen’s skull, she leant her head against Rin’s chest and tried to disappear.

Rin went to the only person she could think of to help. Well, she thought of Haku first, but he had been even more of Yubaba’s crony since the incident. The bloody traitor. Rin would still have gone to him if she could, he was the one most likely to be able to help, but these days seeing Haku meant seeing Yubaba and the last thing Sen needed was to be anywhere near that hag. Whenever Rin had seen Haku about when he wasn’t at the witch’s heel, she had the suspicion that he avoided Sen purposefully. He always seemed to find a way around the bathhouse which bypassed wherever Sen was working, and he never came down to give orders to the workers when Sen was anywhere near. He was probably trying to run away from a guilty conscience Rin thought. So, she went to the next person she thought of who could help, and this one was the opposite of hard to find.

Kamaji didn’t turn from his busy work as he heard the screen slide open behind him. It was probably that new girl who delivered his food, he hadn’t even bothered to learn her name, she was no Rin. She didn’t bring him the extra sauce he liked, and she never berated him for leaving his dishes, it just wasn’t the same. Rin of course had her hands full now with poor Sen, so he didn’t blame her, but he did pine for the old days.

“Hey, you lazy idiot, give me a hand will you!” The cutting, cynical voice sheared through his thoughts, it was like music to the old spirit’s ears and he turned expectantly with a wry smile on his face, a retort on the tip of his tongue. His words died and his smile faded however when he saw the tiny curled bundle in Rin’s arms.

“What is this?!” he said already moving towards them, his extra hands caught up a blanket and helped Rin to place her gently down onto it.

“I don’t know, I just found her like this!” Rin exclaimed, “she’s getting paler and she’s shivering. Oh Kamaji, do something!”

The child curled tighter in response to Rin’s loud shouting and Kamaji pressed a finger to his lips, “Peace, Rin, it’s upsetting her.” He approached slowly and placed two of his hands gently on Sen’s temples. He held them there for a moment with his eyes closed, listening. Then he removed them and sat back.

“Well, what is it you old fool?” Rin demanded, doing her best to keep her voice to a whisper, unsuccessfully. The old spirit infuriatingly said nothing, just put a finger to his lips and pointed upwards. Rin screwed up her face in anger, just as she was about to retort that she had no time for silly games when Sen was clearly in trouble, she heard it. Fast, regular footfalls in the corridor leading to the Boiler Room.

“What the…” Rin started but didn’t finish before the screen was forcefully pushed open and a young, dark green haired spirit ducked under and through.

He stood there for a moment surveying the scene, his eyes as ever were hard and distant, when they fell on the quivering child though, they softened, and he looked incredibly sad for just a moment. Then Rin was in his face, “How dare you come stomping down here, you monster, what the hell do you think you’re doing!”

Haku glared up at the spirit woman, “I am here to get her.” He said, not bothering to indicate who this was.

“What do you mean you’ve come to ‘get her’ what are you going to do with her? There’s something wrong with her, can’t you see that?”

“Yes, I can see that,” Haku all but growled, a touch of steel entering his voice, “we are not all as dim as you Rin.” Rin’s face began turning a dangerous shade of red. “I must take her, up… there.” Haku hesitantly finished his sentence.

“H-how, can you even consider that, you worm!” Rin screeched, “after what she’s done!” Sen whimpered and tried unsuccessfully to curl into a tighter ball in response to Rin’s shrill voice, “after all this time, with no word from you, she’s needed you Haku, she trusted you and you’ve abandoned her!”

“Stop shouting, you’re hurting her.” Haku said in a harsh whisper.

“I’m hurting her, I’M hurting her!” Rin all but screamed.

“Quiet!” Haku raised his hand and Rin was pushed back, by an unseen force, against the far wall. She fell, groaning, and Kamaji hurried over to help her, throwing an angry glance at Haku as he went. Haku looked miserably at the scene, guilt clear on his face for a moment.

“Rin.. I…” A look of pure misery and anger at something other than Rin clouded Haku’s face for a moment, but a quiet whimper from the small bundle on the floor turned his attention.

He went over to Sen and crouched down at her side, his expression turning to one of deep concern.

“..Sen? I know it hurts, but you must listen to me, you’re being summoned by Yubaba. You won’t have known what it was when it started, it was cruel of her to do this.” He sighed and tried to coax the child to her feet, continuing in a soft calm voice, “you must come with me upstairs, to see her, and then this pain will stop.”

Sen couldn’t understand what Haku was saying, she couldn’t understand why she was seeing him again after all this time, she couldn’t understand what she felt when she saw him. She also couldn’t understand why Rin was slumped in a corner with a concerned looking Kamaji crouched over her. But when Haku started to coax her out of the room and away, she went with him willingly, her strange innate trust of him taking over. His arm steadied her as she stumbled her way out of the room, dark spots skittering across her vision. She felt a strange wave of something which she no longer had a name for when Haku supported her and so patiently coaxed her towards the elevator. A warmth and comfort which just managed to penetrate the buzzing in her skull. She clung to this alien feeling like a lantern in the darkness as they slowly made their way up to Yubaba’s lair.


	3. Sen

The elevator slowly ascended, the light gently dinging as they passed each floor. Once, the door opened as another staff member of the bathhouse tried to get in, but the sight of Haku sent them scampering quickly away. Haku said nothing to Sen, he simply held her and hoped they would soon reach the top floor, for Sen’s sake. Her small shivering body seemed so fragile in his arms; he couldn’t bear to see her in such distress. At the same time, he noted how bony her shoulders had become, how pale her skin was and the dark hollows beneath her screwed shut eyes. The inquisitive, bright eyed girl he had met that day on the bridge was not here. Everything had gone so wrong.

The elevator finally reached Yubaba’s apartments and Haku gently guided Sen out of the doors. As they closed with a soft shush behind them, Haku was struck with a memory of the last time he and Sen had stood in this gaudy entrance hall, under very different circumstances.

* * *

“Now don’t try anything funny dragon boy.” The witch cackled as she held the girl by the scruff of her neck.

“Please, just don’t hurt her!” Haku cried, all previous confidence gone in one fateful moment _I think it’s these two?_ He stumbled along in the witch’s wake, unable to do anything to help the poor child for fear that Yubaba would hurt her. She was holding a curved bejewelled dagger to her throat, not that Haku thought she would actually use it, it wasn’t exactly Yubaba’s style, but it had effectively muzzled him, he would not use his powers when Chihiro’s life was so at risk.

“Please, don’t hurt them, please, it’s not their fault, oh please don’t let it be my fault.” Chihiro sobbed into her hands, not so much speaking to the witch anymore as herself, “Haku, please, stop her, please, Haku –“the girl was cut off by a wave of Yubaba’s hand, silencing her voice.

“That’s quite enough of that noise, a deal is a deal, human, and you lost!” The witch cackled as she dragged the distraught child through the halls of her maze-like home, Haku trailing along behind, unable to do anything but follow hopelessly.

They arrived at Yubaba’s office and she harshly pushed Chihiro onto the rug by the fireplace, Haku quickly reached for her and wrapped her in a tight hug, trying desperately to shield her from this terrible situation.

“Now, now, now, I think we all have some things to discuss, don’t we?” a smile twisted Yubaba’s lips, she waved her crooked hand and papers and contracts started to whirl around the room. “First order of business is you Sen, you have broken the terms of your contract it seems,” Yubaba continued before anyone could interject, “By stealing back your name, something which is legally MY property, you breached article 5, section 7 of our contract.” At the confused look from both parties in the room she continued, “oh, my dear, you really should read the terms of a contract before signing, did you parents never teach you that?” A particularly cruel smile twisted her lips at those sharp words, words which made Chihiro go pale and Haku’s face twist in anger.

“In lieu of this breach, I shall be making some alterations to the contract as is my right as set out in amendment 2 of article 7.” She raised her eyebrows at the pair, daring them to call her a liar regarding the ridiculous rules she was talking about. But neither said a word, it seemed plausible that the cunning crone would have twisted and cheated in this way when writing the contracts.

“What will you change?” Haku asked, his voice pure ice.

“That is between me and Sen now isn’t it? Speaking of names, I think it’s high time I took what is mine back.” At her words she raised her clawed hand up, sharp nails pointing towards Chihiro, who gasped and clutched her mouth, she began to cough, a dry wracking cough, and out of her mouth fell letters. They tumbled onto the embroidered rug and slowly began to collect into patterns, into her name. _Chihiro._

Yubaba clenched her hand into a fist and some of the symbols skittered away across the floor and into her other waiting hand. The last remaining symbol reading simply, _Sen_ , floated off the ground onto the back of Sen’s hand where it absorbed into the skin and stayed there, like a tattoo.

“Just in case you forget again, Sen. This is and always will be your only name.”

Sen looked down at her hand and some of her strength seemed to return for a moment,

“No! No, my name is the one my parents gave me!” She straightened up proudly on the rug, “My name is Ch- ch, my name is…” She started to cough and choke again, and her hand was starting to grow hot, “my name is c-c-ch, ow!” She cried as she realised that the mark on her hand was heating up. It was starting to burn.

“Stop, what are you doing!” Cried Haku.

“It won’t stop until she says her real name,” Yubaba shrugged, “This show of disobedience is not very wise, Sen, say you are sorry and tell me your true name and the pain will end.”

Sen glared at the witch and refused to speak further until she involuntarily let out a gasp of pain, her hand was glowing red now. Haku looked desperately at Yubaba, begging her to stop this, but she stared back with steely eyes and Haku knew he could not appeal to her conscience.

“Just say it, Sen, please, I can’t bear to see you in pain, just do as she says for now, please Sen.” Haku felt like a traitor as he said the words, but from his previous experience as Yubaba’s apprentice, he knew resistance would lead only to more pain, and seeing Sen whimpering on the floor was too much for him to bear. The child looked up into Haku’s eyes for a moment, her gaze filled with hurt and confusion, then she turned with admirable resolve to Yubaba.

“I am sorry, my name is… my name is Sen, please let it stop.”

Yubaba clicked her fingers and the burning in Sen’s hand slowly faded, “Now that wasn’t so difficult was it Sen?” Sen looked down, not meeting the witch’s eyes, “You will answer me when I speak to you girl! And address me properly, it shall be Master from now on.” Yubaba’s voice was a whip and Sen jumped with the harshness of it,

“No, it was not that hard… m-master,” she whispered the final word, it held a terrifying finality, a surrender.

“Now, my disobedient apprentice, your contract next.”

“I shall sign no contract with you Yubaba,” Haku spat back, “never again.”

“Oh but you will, because if you don’t I shall turn this annoying human you seem to like so much into a pig, as she deserves. And besides, if you don’t sign a contract and stay here, how will you watch over and protect your precious Sen?” Yuababa finished in a mock sweet voice.

Haku shook, with rage and fear and hopelessness, but finally he was still, his shoulders slumped, and he lowered his gaze to the floor,

“Very well Yubaba, what are the terms?” He whispered.

“Haku! No, don’t do this!” Sen grabbed his arm and sobbed into his sleeve, “You must leave while you still can, don’t let her take your freedom again!”

Haku looked down with soft eyes at the girl, “I cannot leave you Sen, we must stick together, you and I, I feel it.” He crouched down and took her face between his hands, “It will all be alright in the end, you’ll see” And he smiled at her. Then he stood and faced the witch.

“Well that was very touching,” Yubaba mocked, “The terms then. Firstly, the deal will not be as previously, you are obviously undeserving of being my apprentice, this time you shall be more of a servant, or a slave, yes even better. You shall not use magic without my permission, you shall not shift into dragon form without my permission. If you deviate from the terms, or any further instruction I give you, the punishments will be harsh and…” she paused and smiled, “and they shall be performed on sweet Sen here, that should make it easier for you to behave.” Haku’s posture had stiffened with each of these demands and on the last one her looked sharply up at Yubaba,

“Don’t look at me like that boy, it’s your choice, this, or I turn Sen into a pig, I’ll invite you to the feast, we’ll make a proper event out of it.”

There was no pause before Haku said quietly, “I accept the terms of this contract.”

The smile that split Yubaba’s ugly face filled Haku with dread. She rubbed her hands together greedily and the contract appeared swiftly. Haku walked slowly up to the desk and picked up a pen to sign. The scratching of the pen on the thick paper sounded like death rattles to Sen as she crouched on the rug. She had caused this, all of this wasn’t meant to have happened, everyone had helped her so much, all of her friends had tried so hard, and she had failed. Failed the final test and now Haku, who she loved so dearly, was signing his life away and it was HER FAULT.

Yubaba snatched the signed contract away as soon as Haku’s pen left the paper.

She cackled with glee and started to chant over the document. As she chanted, black tendrils of ink started to rise from the paper, they were terrible to look at, writhing and grasping at the air around them as though they had a life of their own. Haku stumbled back from her, but he seemed enraptured by the show, unable to turn and run. The chanting became more intense and Yubaba’s hair began to wave and stand on end. The air felt like it was charged with electricity. Sen huddled behind a chair on the rug, fearful to even watch. The chanting reached a climax and as the witch fixed her attention onto Haku all of the black tendrils rose and swayed in the air, like a snake charming it’s prey. Haku stood transfixed, swaying slightly in time. As she finished the last word, they darted at the spirit, forming a writhing net in the air. This struck Haku squarely in the chest. He doubled over, gasping for breath and clutching his chest as though he was having a heart attack. It ended as quickly as it had begun, Haku gripped the desk to support himself, breathing heavily and retching,

“Well now, that should keep you firmly in check, I think. I shall learn from my previous mistakes; I clearly gave you more freedom than you could handle before. Now do run along Haku, Sen and I have some things to discuss which do not require your presence, so go and find something to occupy yourself with, you have been neglecting your duties for too long.”

“No, I must stay for Sen, please!”

Yubaba simply glanced over at Haku and he started gasping and clutching his chest,

“I do not intend to start saying things twice. Now go.” She pointed at the door and it swung open, while at the same time Haku’s legs started moving towards it, from his face Sen could guess that he had no choice in the matter. She huddled down behind the armchair and heard the door close after him and Yubaba’s footsteps slowly approaching.

Haku paced up and down the corridor, his traitor body stopping him before he got too close to the doors of Yubaba’s office. They’d been in there for so long, what was going on? He felt so powerless, he supposed he _was_ pretty powerless now, right back where he’d started, Yubaba’s slave, chained and caged as easily as an animal. He bared his teeth at the carpet, as though showing his anger could change something, but it only made him more frustrated. _Click_. Haku spun on the spot to face the door. It opened a crack and out of the opening came… Sen. Except, she seemed smaller somehow and she didn’t glance up as she slowly started to pass Haku in the corridor.

“Sen! Are you okay? What happened?”

She didn’t so much as lift her gaze off the floor as she passed him, continuing her slow path through the corridor.

“HAKU!” a shrill voice from Yubaba’s office snapped, “come here now!”

He tried so hard to resist, he needed to speak to Sen, comfort her, find out what was going on, anything! But his body was not his any longer and it moved without his will towards the doors of the office and away from the shrinking fragile figure of Sen, alone in the long dark corridor.


	4. Manners

Haku took a deep breath and pushed open the doors to Yubaba’s apartments. Sen had settled a bit since they’d arrived on this floor; the pain from the summoning was fading as they got closer to Yubaba. They said nothing to each other as they walked the long corridors. Sen regained enough composure to walk unaided and Haku released her, thinking it would be better for the both of them if Sen walked into Yubaba’s office on her own feet and not being held up by Haku. The witch had been reluctant enough to send Haku to collect Sen after she had failed to respond to the summoning. She had given him special dispensation to even talk to Sen; if he had tried to speak to her without it, he would have choked on the words. Yubaba had been true to her word that this time she would be keeping him on a shorter leash. Sometimes it felt like he could hardly breathe without her permission.

As they reached the doors of Yubaba’s office, Haku looked down at Sen and smiled at her, hoping it would give her some comfort. She looked at him with a confused expression, as though she didn’t understand what he was doing. Then her eyes became distant and she looked down. Haku felt a pressure constricting his throat; what had become of his bright, brave child? He still hadn’t been able to figure out what Yubaba had done to Sen. Not that he had really seen her, except a few snatched glances, and he hadn’t talked to her since the fateful day it had happened. He had truly failed to protect her.

“What are doing, loitering out there? Do you think I can’t tell you’re standing there?” The mocking voice cut through Haku’s thoughts and the doors swung open on their own. He took a deep breath and led Sen into Yubaba’s den.

* * *

Sen walked mechanically beside Haku into the kitchen. She felt…strange. She hadn’t realised how little she’d really been feeling these past weeks, but now, here with Haku in Yubaba’s lair, she felt the stirrings of something within her. It was fear. It only buzzed and niggled at her, it was not the full force of the fear she thought she maybe should be feeling in this moment, but even this small amount of emotion after such long emptiness was a bit overwhelming. She reached for Haku’s hand, an unusual show of wilfulness for her in the past few weeks, but her hand met empty air. Haku was already a few paces away from her and bowing low to the dark figure ensconced in a large padded chair by the fireplace.

“I have brought Sen to you, as you asked, Master.” Haku pronounced formally.

“I do not require you to remind what I asked for, Haku, or do you think my memory is that poor?”

“No, Master, I am sorry,” Haku quickly responded, bowing again, lower, a quiver to his voice.

“Oh, do stop bobbing about like a chicken, you imbecile, go over there and read over those reports. I will have another mission for you soon and I need you to be prepared.”

Haku nodded and did not glance back at Sen as he crossed the room to a low table. He knelt on the floor and began leafing through papers. Sen felt the full attention of Yubaba’s gaze fall on her and she quailed, eyes to the floor, trying to shrink in on herself like a little hermit crab; this fear a strangely unfamiliar feeling gripping her chest.

“Don’t just stand there quivering child, come here, where I can see you!” Yubaba snapped. But Sen was too overwhelmed to move; she just stood, rooted to the spot in the doorway, not able to go forwards or run away, as futile as that would have been.

Haku stopped flicking through his papers, his body tensing as he willed himself not to look up and worsen the situation, just hoping that Sen would do as she was told.

“I said,” Yubaba growled between her teeth, “Come. Over. Here!” She raised her fingers and Sen was propelled forwards and crashed into a heap at the witch’s feet. “Now get up!” The shocked child scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could. “And bow, properly.” Sen did as she was told, her mind scrambled for a moment from the shock of the magic. “Dear oh dear, we really must teach you some manners, Sen; I see I have been neglecting your training these past weeks.” Yubaba tutted. “But not today, I think. I brought you here for a reason.”

The witch looked the girl up and down with a critical eye; she snapped her fingers, and a measuring tape snaked out of a drawer and over to the pair. It whizzed around Sen, measuring her height, waist, shoulder width. Yubaba hummed and nodded.

“Yes, I think you shall do fine. You won’t need manners for this job, you just need to be small and quick. You can move quickly can’t you?”

Sen didn’t know what to say, so she just looked up into the witch’s face and then quickly down.

“You’ll need to be quick, there are some… unseemly characters hanging around which I’ve never been able to get rid of...”

The witch shook her head as if realising that Sen was still standing there, confused and having no idea what she was talking about.

“I require my chimneys to be swept girl, and you are the most appropriately sized worker for the job. It is of course, a tad dangerous; you never know what, or who, you’ll find in those old passages. But you’ll be careful, won’t you Sen?”

There was the sharp sound of a table being pushed back as Haku sprung to his feet,

“Please, Yubaba, I would be more than capable of doing this task, there is no need to endanger--“ Haku was cut off short with a strangled sound as Yubaba raised her hand and squeezed it into a fist. He clutched his throat trying desperately to breathe. The coal brush next to the fireplace hovered into the air and swung out at Sen, cuffing her round the head, she gasped at the shock of it as the metal handle struck her, leaving a small gash on her forehead, a thin trail of blood leaking out over her soot-stained skin.

“Did I ask for your opinion, Haku?” Yubaba asked slowly, obviously enjoying seeing him frightened. He shook his head vigorously, unable to take a breath to speak, “then do not presume to give it to me!” Yubaba snapped. “I once warned you that misbehaviour would lead to punishment and that punishment would be taken out on Sen. And next time it shall not be so mild a punishment!” She smiled as the look of guilt spread across Haku’s face. She released him; he fell, gasping, on the floor, then merely looked on, scared to worsen the situation with more words.

“Well, girl, it seems your poor manners have had an effect on impressionable little Haku. He really was being a very good boy before you got here. Shame, I suppose he had to slip up sometime.”

Sen looked between the towering witch and the figure of Haku crouched on the floor, regarding her with a desperate expression. Her head throbbing in time to her quick heartbeat.

“Let this be a lesson to you for the future, Haku: you cannot help, you can only make things worse with your disobedience. I do not expect you to make this mistake again. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Yubaba.” Haku whispered, eyes cast down to the floor.

“Go and read those reports in your chambers. You have caused enough disruption here and I do not require your presence for the rest of the evening.”

Haku nodded and swiftly got up of the floor and collected his papers. As he turned to go, Sen thought she saw the shine of tears on his face; but then his hair fell to cover it and he swiftly left the room, bowing before he closed the door.

Sen stood there for a long time, with her forehead smarting, to the point where she though Yubaba may have forgotten she was standing there. Eventually, though, the old crone rang a bell sitting on the table beside her. A few minutes later a rather round bald-headed spirit knocked on the door and entered.

“Take this girl and show her where the chimney sweeping equipment is, and show her how to use it. She shall be cleaning all of the fireplaces in my apartments.” The spirit bowed and Sen was dismissed. She hurried from the room and followed the silent servant through the winding corridors. She wondered as they walked where Haku’s quarters were; probably somewhere in this maze of rooms. As she walked, she could feel the fear and emotion ebbing as though she were a leaky water bottle; all the novel emotions she had felt for a short time in Yubaba’s office draining away until eventually she was empty again. She wondered for a moment if feeling nothing was worse or better than feeling scared. But, as she considered this, her thoughts slowed and felt so sluggish, she couldn’t focus on them at all. Her mind slowly resorted back to the quiet nothing she had been feeling for so long, her footsteps evened out and her eyes fell back down to her feet as she descended deeper into the maze.


End file.
